Lifespan of peripheral intravenous short catheters in hospitalized children: A prospective study

Objective: To estimate the recommended lifespan of 223 peripheral intravenous accesses in pediatric services. Method: In this cohort study, we monitored the time of intravenous catheter between insertion and removal in children aged up to 15 years old in a Hospital from Bogotá-Colombia. The routine catheter observations was registered in questionnaires during nursing shifts. Survival analyses were performed to analyze the lifespan of the catheter free of complications. Results: The median lifespan of peripheral intravenous catheters without complications was 129 h (IQR 73.6–393.4 h). This median time free from complications was much lower for children ⩽1 year 98.3 h (IQR 63–141 h), than for participants aged >1 year 207.4 h (IQR 100–393 h). Catheters of 24 G (gauge) caliber had a median complication free time of 128 h (IQR 69–207 h) and 22 G calibers 144 h (IQR 103–393 h). Conclusions: In this study, 75% of peripheral indwell catheters remained free from complications for 74 h, the other extreme 25% of these patients could remain up to 393 h.